The present invention pertains to refuse collection vehicles and particularly to side loading compaction bodies for refuse and recyclables collection vehicles.
Refuse and recyclables collection vehicles include those with gravity-dumping bodies and those with rear ejection bodies. All refuse collection vehicles have loading means which may be manual or machine assisted, including rear end loading, side loading or front end loading collectors. In the case of side or front loading compaction bodies, refuse or recyclables are loaded into a receiving hopper which serves as a compaction chamber. A compaction blade then forces the refuse from the compaction chamber into a much larger storage compartment of the collection body. When the storage body is fully packed with compacted refuse, the vehicle must move to a landfill or transfer station to empty the storage compartment of the collection body.
A refuse collection vehicle equipped with a gravity-dumping body must open the tailgate of the body and raise the front of the collection body to an angle of forty to fifty degrees with one or more multistage telescoping hydraulic rams. Then the refuse can slide from the storage compartment of the gravity-dumping body by gravity. There are disadvantages with this type of body, namely, raising the collection body raises the center of gravity of the vehicle, making it less stable, and this instability is pronounced when the vehicle is being unloaded on soft ground such as at a landfill. On the other hand, when the vehicle is to be emptied within an enclosed transfer station, ceiling height may restrict the operation of the gravity-dumped collection body.
Current refuse collection bodies with a powered rear ejection system use a multistage telescoping hydraulic ram to compact the refuse into the storage compartment, using only one or two stages of the extension of the hydraulic ram. When the storage compartment is to be emptied, the tailgate is opened and the compaction blade is used to push the refuse from the open rear end of the body. When the compaction blade is so used, the hydraulic ram must be more fully extended, using more of its multiple stages. Repetitive extensions and retractions of the hydraulic ram to compact the refuse into the storage compartment causes uneven wear within the hydraulic ram due to repeated use of only the first or second stages of the multistage telescoping ram, thereby causing more rapid wear on the ram components during refuse collection. In addition, the compaction blade which compacts the refuse into the storage compartment must be of sufficient size to cause the refuse within the much larger storage compartment to be ejected.